Thursday, November 21, 2013

How is sugarcane packaged by the grower and shipped to
market? I thought it was a fairly simple
question to research. But the answer
eluded me and stopped me cold in writing my novel. I didn't skip the section dealing with it and
move on. I just stopped. And I haven’t worked on the novel in six
months.

Ouch. I hate to admit
it, but I am the queen of the unfinished project. Several examples come to mind. I found a maternity dress I planned to make
for myself – all cut out and ready to sew.
My youngest child is 27. I found
a cross-stitch sampler that I started in 1990.
I found a baby dress I started for my daughter, who is now 28. I don’t remember what my excuses were for not
finishing these.

I’m retired. I have
no excuses. It’s time to take
action. How have others overcome
inertia to get things done?

Google is my friend. The
first article I found was from Forbes, titled Two Ways to Overcome Inertia,
written by Sonia Kapadia. The two ways
were 1) schedule the activity and make yourself accountable, or 2) deliberately
do something completely different to refocus and clear the mind.

The second article Google listed was in daringtolivefully.com
and lists seven ways to overcome inertia and get yourself unstuck.

The third article I found titled Overcoming Inertia: Harnessing our Mindsby Kerwyn Hodge, states it both clearly
and succinctly:
1.
Inertia is a real part of our lives, and can work for us or against us.

2. To overcome inertia, you need an
external force.
3. That external force is our mind.

To this inspired list of strategies, I add my own: practice finishing. We get better at things we practice. I’m hoping this will be no exception.

Thursday, November 14, 2013

I received my retiree health benefits enrollment package
from my former employer in the mail day before yesterday. After hearing all the doom and gloom about
rising costs I was pretty nervous opening the envelope. Turns out the cost of our total coverage – pre-retirement
medical for me, Medicare supplement for my husband, and dental insurance for
both of us – will go up 2%. I can live
with this.

But is there a better deal out there? My premium for a high-deductible plan with a
Health Savings Account (HSA) will be $713 a month. This is the full premium for employer-based coverage
for retirees – which by definition are a high-risk pool. I am the (relatively) young, healthy person
paying into this pool. What would I pay
for the same plan on the new health care exchange?

My current plan is not available on the exchange in the
state of Utah. So while I would have
liked an apples-to-apples comparison, the best I can do is look at similar
plans.

With the high-deductible/HSA plans, the plan starts paying after the deductible is met. These plans are only offered on the bronze
and silver tiers. The lowest premium of
the bronze plans is $329 per month; the highest premium for the silver plans is
$502 per month. The higher the premium –
the lower the deductible. The silver
plans come closest to what I have now.

Just for fun, I also researched what my current insurance
dollars would buy on the exchange. The
highest priced platinum plan is $622.75 per month. So the answer is yes, I could get a policy
with a lower premium on the healthcare exchange.

But I won’t. Premiums
are not the only thing you should consider when evaluating a health plan. You also need to do the math. Look for the plan that will give you lowest
total health care costs, including premiums, co-payments and co-insurance, and
out of pocket maximums.

This became very clear when I researched Medicare Supplement
Plans for my husband. Here in Utah there
are eight available plans that cover both health and prescription drugs. Of the eight, two have no monthly premium;
the others have a much lower premium than what we pay for the Medicare
Supplement offered by my former employer.
But wait! How much will the copay
on his prescription be? About $450 a
month, as opposed to the $28 per month we’re paying now. And – what is the annual out of pocket
maximum? They range from $6700 for the
no premium policies down to $2500 for the highest premium policy. Our current plan has an out of pocket maximum
of $500

.

I can’t cover my husband through my former employer unless I
am also enrolled. So I will choose to
pay more for my health care in exchange for my husband paying less for
his.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

I cleaned my house using the Speed Cleaning method on Monday.
I chose Monday as my housework day because, quoting one of my favorite
movies, “everybody should go to work on a Monday.” I put on my apron, put the supplies in their
respective pockets and loops, and started in front of the kitchen sink. Here’s what I learned this first time through
the method.

1. I had to remind
myself several times to start at the top and work down, after something midway,
or to the right caught my eye and my cleaning cloth. Even with my self-corrections, I missed the
front of the microwave and the top of the refrigerator.

2. I’m just too short
to reach the top of the fridge – and higher places in general. Too bad my cleaning apron doesn't have a
pocket for a step-stool. I’m going to
have to put the step-stool in front of the fridge before I start next time, and
then put it away when it’s time to do the floors.

3. I was totally
flabbergasted by the dust that came down from the upper recesses and the crumbs
that came from the appliances. It was by
sheer force of will that I allowed them to stay on the floor, patiently waiting
to be picked up by the vacuum. When I see dust and crumbs I want to get
them. The visible surfaces of the house
are always pretty clean. This method
helped me find dirt in the invisible places which I’m sure hadn't been cleaned
in months (years?). Next Monday it
should be a little easier.

4. I didn't have my caddy
of cleaning supplies with me in the kitchen.
I keep it in the bathroom, and when I loaded up my apron I forgot I was
supposed to take the caddy with me. So
when I ran out of cleaning cloths, I had to stop what I was doing, go to the
bathroom and get the tray. This is
exactly what Speed Cleaning tries to
prevent – wasted time.

5. I also didn't
refill my spray bottles with cleaning solution before I started, and of course,
I ran out midway through cleaning.
Again, wasted time.

6. I could have done
a better job making life easier for the vacuumer (also me) while I was
dusting. There were a number of items
that could have been picked up or moved aside so I didn't have to stop
vacuuming to move them.

7. I took my apron
off before I started doing the vacuuming and then the mopping. Big mistake.
While I still had my whisk broom in my back pocket to get the stray
crumbs I should have gotten while I was dusting, I sure could have used my
white or green pads to get the stubborn stuff off the floor while I was
mopping.

So, lots of lessons learned on using the technique, which I
will employ next Monday when I clean.
That said, the house is clean – cleaner than it’s been in a long
time. [Smile]